Grilled Cheese Truck to roll out in early October in Los Angeles

It seems so obvious, it’s hard to believe no one thought of it sooner. Of course Los Angeles needs a grilled cheese truck. Thanks to Dave Danhi, it's about to get one.

Capitalizing on the success of two hot food trends -- nouveau food trucks and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches-- Danhi plans to launch the Grilled Cheese Truck in early October, provided the permitting and inspection process runs smoothly.

For its initial rollout, the Grilled Cheese Truck will feature a menu of four to five standard sandwiches, including a plain grilled cheese sandwich on your choice of wheat or white bread; a caprese made with heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil; and a California melt made with smoked turkey, avocado, bacon, tomato, Monterey jack and cheddar. There will also be a specialty sandwich of the week (perhaps a triple-cream brie with brown-buttered apples and sage on walnut-raisin bread) and one or two dessert sandwiches (perhaps vanilla-poached apricots with mascarpone or goat cheese). Sides will include fresh tomato soup, house-made sweet-and-spicy pickles and either tater tots or fries (he's taking votes via Twitter). The menu is still in flux. He's trying to keep the price point for every item under five dollars and may serve the specialty sandwiches as sliders.

Perhaps the most unlikely aspect of the Grilled Cheese Truck's gooey road to fruition is that the man who started it admits he's never much cared for grilled cheese.

Danhi, however, is unremitting in his ardor for bacon, barbecue and anything related to barbecue. Prior to hurting his back 10 1/2 years ago, Danhi worked as a chef at the Roxbury, at Georgia (a high-end Southern restaurant that was once on Melrose), at Habana in Costa Mesa and at Water Grill before Michael Cimarusti came on board.

"I did a mac and cheese at Georgia, and I loved dragging it through the barbecue sauce on my plate. I wondered why no one had ever done a grilled cheese mac 'n' cheese sandwich," he says.

He came up with a Cheesy Mac & Ribs sandwich that requires cooking a mac 'n cheese, letting it cool, cutting it into slices, adding sliced cheese, onions and smoked rib meat then tucking all of it between bread.

Danhi entered his creation in the Grilled Cheese Invitational. It didn't win, but he couldn't fail to notice the throngs of grilled cheese junkies. "There was a line five people deep and a mile wide and it stayed that way for three hours. I realized that there is a fanatical culture for this."

Shortly after, he made a version of this sandwich (minus the ribs) for his pal Cimarusti and several other foodies on a "Sea to Plate" fishing trip hosted by Edible Los Angeles. It went over "phenomenally well" and he joked about starting a grilled cheese truck. Four days later, he had potential investors.

"I had my day in the sun and I had my write-ups, but I never wanted that when I started cooking," Danhi says. "I love making people happy with food, and this is the perfect venue to do that."

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: A grilled cheese sandwich made with manchego cheese at Allston Yacht Club. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Lien Pham]

After the fantastic dogs from Let's Be Frank i am thrilled about this news! Where is the truck now?

[I want to eat that]

Is this thing up and running yet?

[ShyGuy]

This is genius. Grilled cheese with tomato soup is one the greatest meals ever conceived. Nice to see it go mobile.

[Kahiau - Hermosa Beach]

!!!!!!!
Fed minutes said they're keeping quantitative easing and other gimmicks until March. On one hand that allows further manipulation, on the other it signals to people that the Fed doesn't think the recovery isn't that hot and that banks are still in far worse shape than they let on. It's going to be interesting to see which side of that battle wins.
Well- that's TRADING if you're into stocks and what not. Now that I caught everyone's attention, see below:

I must admit, personally hated grilled cheese sandwiches until I tried the best one ever a month ago. I believe this is a wonderful venture, not for everyone of course. There's only one way to find out. Try it first- never judge a book by it's cover. Scan and read. With the sandwiches, well --- you buy and taste, at least once - go from there. Right?

As for cleanliness- I am sure sure the 'health dept' is looking and scrutinizing their every move pretty closely, so I won't worry. We are not in the 80's anymore. Are you kidding me?

Come on, wake up people, let grilled cheese sandwiches set you free , melt, relax and enjoy. If you like it ( I am sure you will) - then spread the word will you? I WILL. I am excited and can't wait! Where is the first truck going to be?

-Kahiau

[daphne]

Come to Florida!

[dave]

Just for the record... I do like grilled cheese sandwiches.... NO..I LOVE them now more than ever... Since the incarnation of the original Cheesy Mac and Rib, there have been dozens of different sandwiches grilling at my house and each one makes me smile more and more as they keep getting better...
Just a slight misinterpretation! Thank you once again Elina for all of your kind words!
We'll be rolling by mid Oct for every to try the wonderful melts we have been putting together for you!
follow us on twitter @grlldcheesetruk for updates!

[John Bard]

Who are all these sad people who get orgasmic over grilled cheese?
Frankly, it's pathetic.

Now if you were talking about pulled pork....

[LA]

Where did this trend of nouveau roach coaches start? Seriously, why would any consumer want to wait outside a ton of time in a long line, standing in the street rather than wait in a sit down restaurant. Ok, they move from location to location, wow but beyond that I am not sure this concept has any added value. The food is not superior to that of a restaurant and I question the cleansiness -- when will these roach coaches get a letter for cleansiness. This grilled cheese thing, Kogi tacos, barbecue stuff and other food is beyond me. Just find a good restaurant and eat there and stop rewarding these folks who do not contribute to the economy by refusing to open a restuarant.

[Michael Jones]

An all time low for food trucks. Grilled cheese? Why not pbj?
I think this country has the worst street food of anywhere in the world.

[Tes Safavi]

Where in LA -- we'll be there!!!

[duxbellorum]

Don't want to scramble around town, hunting and drooling? I was at LAZY DOG CAFE last week and watched a group of 18 go into paroxysms of ecstasy trying their grilled cheese sandwich. I must try it next time...

[JS]

So roach coaches are the last bastion of shabby chic, huh? Like everything else bored Silverlake trust fund kids line up for, the food truck craze is just an overpriced, boring, status-driven bit of symbolism that stands for mockery of something poor people do out of necessity. Like hanging out at the Little Joy, drinking Pabst and wearing a trucker hat, they want to be poor so badly, but it just ain't happening.

Or maybe this is geared toward the "political consultants" and "media directors" those kids will be in a couple years; you know, the neo-yuppies who just long for a little nostalgia for back when they were still living in the "bad part of Williamsburg" and pretending to be poor.

Just when you thought no generation could be more self-consciously postmodern and ironic than the boomers, here come their kids; please, at the very least, open a proper stand and put a giant grilled cheese sandwich on the roof, will you? Where's your sense of culture?

[OZ]

Noveau food trucks. This is your next bubble right here, folks.

[jtbwriter]

If it will have grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches as good as Twoheys, I'm there!

[Natalie DeJohn]

A grilled cheese truck??? All my wildest dreams have come true! I can't freakin' wait. (I just realized this sounds sarcastic, but I really am excited)